Tuesday, August 27, 2013

This is my 13th season at Isla Guadalupe, diving with and observing Great White Sharks. During this time I have learned a lot and found out that I now know a lot less about these sharks than I thought I knew when I started out, all these years ago. It is scary to think that Great White Sharks are an apex predator in the Ocean and we know very little about them.

A few years ago I heard a quote by Dr. Peter Klimley, probably one of the most respected and knowledgeable scientists, when it come to Great White Sharks. "You want answers?! I got questions!" I thought that was a funny response at the time, but now I'm starting to understand what he meant by that. For every answer I get, a few more questions arise and so I feel like I know less and less as I'm becoming aware of all the things I don't know.

Take for example how sharks heal. The first picture is of "Chuggy" last year, after he got bit by another shark. He was swimming around with this nasty gash on his head, like he did not have a care in the world. I have to admit that I didn't think much of his chances to survive this bite and thought I'd never see him again.

The second picture was taken just last week. Look at the amazing difference! There are no veterinarians, no surgeries or stitches and yet he looks like he's healing just fine. I'm blown away by their ability to survive injuries that would kill just about any other animal and the weirdest thing is, these nasty injuries don't even seem to bother them all that much. They swim by like nothing happened, with no discernible change in behavior or activity. They are not "limping" around, they keep swimming around normally, acting exactly like they did the day before.

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver

About Shark Diver.
As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkoperations@gmail.com.